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Smith Wigglesworth
Smith Wigglesworth (1859–1947). Born on June 8, 1859, in Menston, Yorkshire, England, to a poor family, Smith Wigglesworth began work at age six in fields and factories. Illiterate until adulthood, he was taught to read by his wife, Mary Jane "Polly" Featherstone, whom he married in 1882. Initially a plumber, he joined the Salvation Army, drawn by their zeal, and began preaching despite a lifelong stammer. In 1907, at age 48, he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at a Sunderland revival, transforming his ministry with boldness and a focus on divine healing. Wigglesworth became a global Pentecostal evangelist, traveling across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America, leading revivals marked by miracles, healings, and conversions. His unpolished, faith-driven preaching emphasized God’s power, often urging believers to act on Scripture alone. Married with five children, he was widowed in 1913 but continued his itinerant work until his death on March 12, 1947, in Wakefield, England. Known for his rugged faith, he once said, “Only believe! God will not fail you, beloved.”
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Sermon Summary
Smith Wigglesworth emphasizes the necessity of faith in the process of asking God for the Holy Spirit and other blessings. He explains that many fail to receive because they ask without believing, highlighting that true faith claims what it hopes for and trusts in God's promises. Wigglesworth encourages believers to reach a state of complete surrender and helplessness, where they rely solely on God's power and presence. He assures that when one truly believes, they will experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the liberty that comes with it. The sermon concludes with a powerful reminder that belief must accompany our requests to see God's promises fulfilled.
Scriptures
Ask in Faith
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. --Matthew 7:7 Scripture reading: Hebrews 11:1-40 Many people do not receive the Holy Spirit because they are continually asking and never believing. "Everyone who asks receives" (Matt. 7:8). He who is asking is receiving; he who is seeking is finding. The door is being opened right now; that is God's present Word. The Bible does not say, "Ask and you will not receive." Believe that asking is receiving, seeking is finding, and to him who is knocking, the door is being opened. When will we see people filled with the Holy Spirit and things done as they were in the Acts of the Apostles? It will be when people say, "Lord, You are God." I want you to come into a place of such relationship with God that you will know your prayers are answered because He has promised. Faith has its request. Faith claims it because it has it. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Heb. 11:1). As sure as you have faith, God will give you the overflowing, and when He comes in, you will speak as the Spirit gives utterance (Acts 2:4). You must come to a place of ashes, a place of helplessness, a place of wholehearted surrender where you do not refer to yourself. You have no justification of your own in regard to anything. You are prepared to be slandered, to be despised by everybody. But because of His personality in you, He reserves you for Himself because you are godly, and He sets you on high because you have known His name (Ps. 91:14). He causes you to be the fruit of His loins and to bring forth His glory so that you will no longer rest in yourself. Your confidence will be in God. Ah, it is lovely. "The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Cor. 3:17). Thought for today: If you would believe half as much as you ask, you would receive.
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Smith Wigglesworth (1859–1947). Born on June 8, 1859, in Menston, Yorkshire, England, to a poor family, Smith Wigglesworth began work at age six in fields and factories. Illiterate until adulthood, he was taught to read by his wife, Mary Jane "Polly" Featherstone, whom he married in 1882. Initially a plumber, he joined the Salvation Army, drawn by their zeal, and began preaching despite a lifelong stammer. In 1907, at age 48, he received the baptism of the Holy Spirit at a Sunderland revival, transforming his ministry with boldness and a focus on divine healing. Wigglesworth became a global Pentecostal evangelist, traveling across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America, leading revivals marked by miracles, healings, and conversions. His unpolished, faith-driven preaching emphasized God’s power, often urging believers to act on Scripture alone. Married with five children, he was widowed in 1913 but continued his itinerant work until his death on March 12, 1947, in Wakefield, England. Known for his rugged faith, he once said, “Only believe! God will not fail you, beloved.”